Iran attack live updates: Israel vows to respond at ‘right time’ as US military downs over 80 drones

“The Middle East is on the brink,” United Nations Secretary General António Guterres said, addressing the Security Council.

“The people of the region are confronting a real danger of a devastating full-scale conflict,” he continued. “Now is the time to defuse and de-escalate. Now is the time for maximum restraint.”

“It’s time to step back from the brink,” Mr Guterres later said. “It is vital to avoid any action that could lead to major military confrontations on multiple fronts in the Middle East. Civilians are already bearing the brunt and paying the highest price.”

The US has destroyed dozens of drones and at least six ballistic missiles aimed at Israel that were launched from Iran and Yemen, its military said.

It destroyed over 80 one-way attack drones, including seven UAVs targeted on the ground prior to launch, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said today.

“CENTCOM remains postured to support Israel’s defense against these dangerous actions by Iran. We will continue to work with all our regional partners to increase regional security,” the US military said.

Iraq, Jordan and Turkey officials said the nations provided wide notices, days before Iran launched hundreds of drones and missiles in a retaliatory attack on Israel

.Iranian foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said yesterday that Iran gave neighbouring countries and Israel’s ally the US a 72-hour notice before launching the strikes.

Turkey’s foreign ministry said it had spoken to both Washington and Tehran before the attack, adding it had conveyed messages as an intermediary to be sure reactions were proportionate.

“Iran said the reaction would be a response to Israel’s attack on its embassy in Damascus and that it would not go beyond this. We were aware of the possibilities. The developments were not a surprise,” a Turkish diplomatic source told Reuters.

Two Iraqi sources, including a government security adviser and a security official, said Iran had used diplomatic channels to inform Baghdad about the attack at least three days before it happened.

“The government clearly understood from the Iranian officials that the US military in Iraq was also aware of the attack in advance,” said the Iraqi security official.

Israeli diplomats and security officials believe a forceful response is inevitable, although it has not been decided yet whether it will be on Iran itself, or its proxies – Hezbollah in Lebanon, Shia militias in Syria and Iraq and the Houthis in Yemen.

“The indication from DC is that the US will not join an operation directly against Iran. But apart from that they are certainly not telling us what to do,” said a former Mossad officer who is temporarily back at the Interior Ministry since the Gaza war started.

“The priority is to ensure that we don’t face such an assault again from Iran, and also deter its proxies like Hezbollah which have been regularly attacking Israel. I think the war cabinet will want to keep all options open to try and deal with the multiple threats we are facing.”

Israeli defence experts said amid the mounting pressure from the US, Israel wouldn’t dare go for “full escalation”.

“They might do something symbolic like a specific attack on one designated target,” said Amos Harel, a non-resident senior fellow at Brookings.

Iran, meanwhile, assumes the US does not want a regional escalation that could lead to an all out war, said Holly Dagres, Iran expert and senior fellow at the Atlantic Council.

“But while there is an assumption that cooler heads will prevail, Israel can and will act on its own,“ she told The Independent.

Read more from The Independent:

As alarm spread across the country as Iran’s attack, Israel’s high-tech air defence system mobilised to intercept the attack, whilst Israel’s air force – working with allies including the UK and US – launched planes to shoot down some of the incoming weaponry before it reached the country.

Read more from The Independent:

Iran has launched its first ever direct attack on Israeli soil, leaving the world waiting to see how Tel Aviv will respond amid fears of a wider conflict developing in the Middle East.

In a sharp escalation of the tensions roiling in the region since Israel’s war in Gaza erupted with Hamas’s attack on 7 October, Tehran launched a barrage of more than 330 killer drones, ballistic and cruise missiles towards Israel on Saturday night.

Britain and the US were among several of Israel’s allies who helped to shoot down the missiles, and Israeli authorities insisted that 99 per cent of them were shot down without causing any significant damage.

But with members of prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war cabinet vowing to “exact a price” from Iran, which has said it considers the matter “concluded”, Tel Aviv’s response looks set to determine whether the confrontation with its longstanding foe continues to escalate.

Read The Independent’s timeline of what has happened so far — and what could come next:

US President Joe Biden spoke with Jordan’s King Abdullah II on Sunday, the White House said.

“President Biden strongly condemned the attack launched by Iran that also threatened Jordan and the Jordanian people,” a statement from the White House reads.

“They also discussed the situation in Gaza, and reaffirmed their cooperation to increase critical humanitarian assistance to Gaza and to find a path to end the crisis as soon as possible,” the statement continued.

Meanwhile, Turkish, Jordanian and Iraqi officials have said Iran gave wide notice days before Saturday’s attack on Israel, allowing mass casualties and rampant escalation to be averted — however, a US official denied this.

“President Biden convened a call this afternoon with Senate Majority Leader Schumer, Senate Minority Leader McConnell, Speaker of the House Johnson, and House Minority Leader Jeffries to discuss Iran’s unprecedented attack against Israel,” the White House said in a statement on Sunday evening.

“On the call, the President discussed the urgent need for the House of Representatives to pass the national security supplemental as soon as possible,” the statement continued.

That national security supplemental would provide $95bn in US aid to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan. The bill was approved by the US Senate earlier this year but has yet to be taken up by the US House of Representatives.

Benjamin Netanyahu is in a “political fight for his life” Holly Dagres, an Iran expert and senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, told The Independent.

The Israeli prime minister’s popularity has tanked since 7 October, he is facing questions about how Hamas’ attack was able to happen and is standing three trials on corruption and graft charges, that he denies.